


Ripple Effect

by ChristopherMarlowe



Category: Fear the Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Can't decide if it's a oneshot or a story, F/M, Literally only Nick/Luci because of the time it's set, M/M, Nothing of them actually together, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-08 03:17:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19098661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristopherMarlowe/pseuds/ChristopherMarlowe
Summary: In an alternate world where Nick and Troy knew each other before the Apocalypse, the time at Broke Jaw ranch is a bit awkward, but does it need to stay that way? Will their brief time together in the past impact their future?(Author is unsure if they're continuing this story or not)





	1. In My Bed

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing Trick, I just recently got into the show, and I love these boys. I haven't decided whether to make this a one-shot or a story, so feel free to let me know.  
> In this chapter Nick finds out Troy was waiting for someone (supposedly Madison) in his bed, and he wants to confront him about everything that's been going on.  
> 

               Nick wanted nothing to do with being at the ranch. He should have figured out someplace else for the people of La Colonia and made their own little community. Now a lot of them were dead, and Luci was hurt. It was his fault. As if all that wasn’t bad enough, his ex was one of the people who ran the ranch (and likely shot his girlfriend.) Okay, _ex_ may be a bit much to describe Troy, but they met a few years back and spent a bit of time making out and fooling around. Nick got involved with drugs again, Troy stayed busy, and they just stopped talking.

            He felt a weight on his chest after he left the hospital area, knowing Luciana needed her rest, and he needed time to think. He wanted to give her somewhere safe, and It made him consider against leaving the ranch, despite everything. It _was_ safe, apart from what came with having Troy there. She wanted to leave as soon as she was let out, but where would they go? His mother wanted to stay there, Alicia would likely stay with her, and they were in the middle of nowhere.

            Nick tried to shake it off for the moment, knowing they still had a few days until she’d be good enough to travel. He stepped into his temporary house, Madison already inside. He knew her well enough to see the troubled look on her face the moment he stepped inside, and rose a brow, “what happened now?” he asked.

            “Troy was here when I got back,” she started, making Nick tense. “He was laying in your bed, just waiting for me. I thought it was you at first and asked about Luciana.”

            He glanced at his bed, not sure what to do with the information that Troy had been in it. Was he actually waiting for Madison? Or was he waiting for Nick? He crossed his arms, trying not to chew on his lip. “What did he want?”

            His mom hesitated a bit, trying to decide how much to tell him, and how much to protect him from. She sighed. “He was saying that I understood how this place works and understood him, which was why he _choose_ me. He’d wanted Alicia and me to come back here when we met at the border, we just got forced to because of the infestation. But he said he didn’t pick you, and you hadn’t earned your place… I told him you would.”

            The tension had returned, and it took everything in his power not to roll his eyes. This seemed like something petty, and beyond what had happened recently. He got up, starting to head for the door.

            “Where are you going?” she asked, concern seeped into her tone, reminding him of just how overbearing she could be at times. “Stay away from him, Nick. We don’t know what sets him off. _He_ doesn’t even know what sets him off,” she warned.

            Nick ignored her and made his way out. He wandered around, looking for any sign of the youngest Otto. He decided not to ask if anyone had seen him, given the dilemma they had when Jake, Alicia, and Luciana got back. He didn’t want to deal with people thinking he was on another murder mission, trying to finish what he started. He finally found him out by the cattle, checking the gate and fencing around them. “Troy,” he said, not in the mood to sneak up on him for the moment.

            Troy glanced back, brow raised, “Nicky. What brings you out here?” he asked, turning his attention back to the fencing.

            He glanced around, making sure they were out of earshot of anyone around. “You were in my _bed_?” he asked, his voice harsh and full of disapproval. “And told my mom you don’t want me here? What the hell?”

            Troy pushed himself back into a standing position, towering over Nick easily as he looked down at him. “You tried to shoot me. It doesn’t exactly leave a warm and fuzzy feeling in a person, Nicky.”

            This time, Nick _did_ roll his eyes. “Cut the crap, Troy. We both know this is about more than just this morning. I understand not wanting to let others know about our history, but I’m not stupid.”

            “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Or do you mean the fact you just up and fell off the face of the earth? Stopped returning my texts and calls, didn’t even give me one final text to tell me you were done with me. And then suddenly there you are, being brought into one of our bases, carrying your half-dead girlfriend. Wasn’t the reunion I was expecting,” Troy rambled on, something Nick wasn’t unused to. He’d known when they were involved that he was unstable, but it wasn’t something he minded. Nick wasn’t the sanest person on this planet either.

            Nick softened the slightest bit. “I got involved with some stuff, wasn’t really thinking about much other than myself and where to get the next hit. It wasn’t fair to you, but it also doesn’t give you the right to go this far. _You_ also tried to kill me, if you need reminding…”

            “Technically I didn’t. Just because you were down in the lab didn’t mean I was gonna try and off you. You were just there for holding, and you were pretty attached to your girl… didn’t think separating you two would go well,” he pointed out. Maybe it was because they had a past, but Nick could read clear in his voice and face the jealousy that accompanied him talking about Luci.

            “Well, you don’t have to worry about us much longer. Once Luci is better, we’re not planning on staying. Then you don’t have to worry about me,” Nick said, tone clipped. They’d been friends with benefits – more benefits than friends – not lovers, or anything deep, yet Troy was acting like he hadn’t shown up for their wedding.

            His brow rose, “your mom know that? She seems to think the four of you will be here for a while.” His face is unreadable this time. It’s almost as if the man himself can’t figure out what he’s feeling; unsure whether to be relieved or disappointed that Nick may be leaving.

            “She knows I don’t wanna be here. She’ll try to talk me into staying, but I’m an adult, I can do what I want,” Nick shrugged. Of course, he’d been doing whatever he wanted since before he turned eighteen, but that was beside the point.

            “So it’s not just me you up and disappear on. Good to know,” Troy quips.

            Nick sighed, feeling his patience thinning. “I was sixteen, Troy. I wasn’t even clueing my own family into where I was the majority of the time, and I’d disappear for days. So as shitty as it is to say… if I wasn’t concerned about talking to my family, I really wasn’t concerned about checking in with some guy I barely knew. It wasn’t personal. I’m sorry if it hurt you, but it is what it is and I can’t change it. Once Luciana is better, we’ll be gone, and you won’t have to have me around anymore.” He’d said what he needed to say, so he turned and left, fishing for his box of cigarettes and pulled one out as he walked away.         


	2. Insanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hunting trip for wild boars may just be what Troy and Nick need to calm the waters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, decided to make it a story. I love these two too much. This is the chapter when I definitely start to nudge off canon. I'm still following the skeleton of the show at the moment, but at some point, it may completely veer off, and change the path these two (and company) go on.

                If Nick’s day couldn’t get any worse, he dealt with family drama when he eventually made his way back to the house. He was still insisting on not wanting to say, whereas his mom was the opposite. She also made it clear she blamed him for Travis’ death. He assumed she’d apologize for it later, but with the weight of guilt already on him, it was the last thing he wanted to hear. Alicia walked out, tired of seeing them fight, and Madison left not long after to go talk to the other Ottos.

                When he deemed enough time had passed for both him and Alicia to cool down a bit, he went to find her, check on her. It wasn’t a productive conversation, and he could tell the state of the world was hardening her. She didn’t truly want to stay either, but to her, it was better than being out in the world. Nick didn’t disagree, but he was having a hard time getting himself comfortable with the idea of staying – especially with knowing how Luci felt.

                He passed the time roaming around, trying to get his mind to settle, or try to decide what was best. Nick tried to sleep but failed at any attempts, his mind not quiet enough. His mom was out somewhere, Alicia still at “bible study”, so he slipped out and walked the grounds a bit more. He came up to a small house, an old couple dancing outside… he couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips. Even in the worst of times, there were still these sweet, innocent moments.

                Headlights came over the hill, and Nick saw Troy in the driver’s seat of the truck, who paused by him. “Bunch of us are going hunting. Wanna join?’ he asked. It was in these moments that he seemed _almost_ normal. Nick knew better though.

                He rose a brow, “in the middle of the night?” it seemed like a weird time to go hunting, and he wasn’t even sure _what_ they were hunting. Remaining animals? Infected?

                “Boars are nocturnal. Catch them sneaking around in the dark,” the rancher in him showed with how obvious he said it.

                Nick wasn’t sure what he was playing at, but he shrugged. “Nah, I don’t hunt.” He never had, given he was a city kid and all. It wasn’t something that overly interested him, either.

                “This is more it's more maintenance than hunting. More cultivating than killing,” Troy tried to sound reassuring, likely due to all their talk of killing and murder lately. He slipped a hand out the open window, offering him a gun. “Come, earn your keep.”

                Nick eyed the gun, glancing up to Troy. Was this a trick? Or was he offering him the gun, so he’d feel safer? How easy it would be to turn the gun on the driver, no one but the old couple around, but that wasn’t how things should be handed. So instead he took the proffered weapon and went to get in the passenger’s side. “Figured you’d want to maintain your distance until I left. Pretend like I was already gone,” he commented as Troy began driving. The strange thing was that he didn’t feel tense. He didn’t feel worked up, or anxious, he felt fine being here. Was it the fact he was armed, or the company?

                Troy’s lips turned down a bit. “I thought about what you said. I think I may have overreacted a bit. I... I don’t handle abandonment well. It feels like everyone leaves me, so when I’m proved right, it hurts more,” he confessed. “But it was years ago. And stuff in the old world doesn’t really matter anymore.”

                His words made it even harder for him to want to leave now. He understood what Alicia meant by being tired of what was going on out there, and there was just… something about Troy that was making it hard to walk away. He’d said it earlier, there wasn’t any sort of epic romance history between them, yet here he was, having a hard time leaving because of the man beside him. “Guess not. Got a whole load of new shit to worry about, without trying to pile it on old shit,” Nick finally agreed after a moment. He glanced over at him. “Is it going to be the same thing, if I leave again?” he asked.

                “If.” Troy picked up on the word difference. If, not when. “Earlier, you seemed pretty set on leavin’, now you’re saying if,” he chuckled. He didn’t pose it as a question, just an observation.

                “it’s hell out there, and maybe it wouldn’t be _so_ bad to stay… My family wants to, or well, my mom does, and Alicia is tired of going from place to place. I’ve been separated from them a few times and I’m not sure if it’s something I wanna do again,” he explained anyway. It was actually Alicia he had a hard time leaving, but he didn’t need to be so specific. “Luciana really wants to go. Which I’m sure doesn’t need its own explanation,” he glanced at Troy pointedly. The people here killed her people and nearly killed her. Of course, she wouldn’t want to stay.

                “And you? What do you want? What does _Nick Clark_ want?” Troy brought up, not even fazed by the look he was given.

                Nick sighed. That was the million-dollar question, and what had him up. He needed to figure out what he wanted, and not what the people in his life wanted. The important people would respect his decision. “Still trying to figure that out.”

 

                They pulled off to meet up with the others, big dogs accompanying them, ready to track down the boars. The two followed along for a bit, before going to search around themselves. “You know, I could kill you if I wanted to,” Nick pointed out as they walked, gun in his hand in case it became needed. “I wonder how long it’d take you to turn…” Troy had been doing experiments back at the border to see how long it took people to turn, so in a way, he was throwing his own experiment back in his face.

                “Eighty-seven minutes, based on my height, BMI, age, all that,” Troy answered as casually as if he was giving his birthday. “If you do kill me, will you time it? Write it down?” he held up the little pocket-sized journal he seemed to frequently keep with him.

                Nick looked at him, bemused. He considered debating Troy’s desire to be a scientist, but he had a feeling they’d just go around and around in circles. Instead, something else came over him and he snatched the journal from his hands, and began pulling pages from it, laughing. Troy tried to wrestle it back, making demands for it and ended up tackling Nick to the ground. He finally recovered the journal, while Nick fell back on the dirt, laughing harder. Troy was still leaning over him, laughing himself. It died out and they both paused, taking in their position. They agreed to forget the old world, but this was feeling very much like it at the moment. The younger boy watched, curious to see what Troy would do, and even he seemed to even be figuring it out.

                Troy finally pulled away, seeming almost reluctant as he crawled to his feet and offered Nick a hand to help him up, hoisting him to his feet. “We should get back to work. Can’t let the other guys get all the credit, yeah?” he asked, winking at his companion, before going to follow the sounds of the barking dogs.

                Still stunned, it took Nick a moment to follow. Whether he knew it himself or not, that was the moment he finally made up his mind – he’d be staying at Broke Jaw ranch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy and hope to have up a new chapter soon. Kudos and comments make me smile.


	3. Leaving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick's life feels like it's only getting more chaotic at the ranch, and he's caught between family and his girlfriend. And someone who shouldn't even be on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance for the fact this is a fillery chapter to just progress storyline. Still following along the base of the storyline, but I want to start to incorporate more and more into it.

                They didn’t get back until after the sun was rising over the horizon, and breakfast began to be served. Despite Troy’s comment of not killing, they still ended up with a dead boar, but decided to use it for breakfast. His body wanted to go sleep, but he needed to put something in his body first. They received an update that the unit set to scout out around where the helicopter went down still hadn’t responded, so they were putting another together to go check on them. Troy would be going, as well as a few volunteers… one of which was his mother. He and Alicia exchanged a look of absolute confusing, before he caught Troy’s eye – he looked equally as baffled. Rather than come sit with them, Madison went to take a seat next to Troy, only further confusing the three of them. The group needed time to prepare, as well as sleep off their last mission, so they’d leave the following day.

                After breakfast, Nick couldn’t find time to talk to Troy on his own. He was too busy either planning or going to pack his bag. He supposed talking would have to wait. So, he got some sleep, and then went to check on Luciana. She was cleared enough to leave, so long as she took it easy for another day or two. He put his energy into helping get her as settled as she could be in their makeshift home, neither of the two having an issue with her sleeping in his bunk. He showed her as much of the ranch as he could, from the safety of their doorstep. He knew she didn’t want to be around them much, and she needed the rest anyway. He brought her up food when dinner time came and ate with her instead. Troy was absent anyway.

                He finally surrendered trying to talk to him and curled up for sleep.

 

                The three of them were woken in the middle of the night by the sound of chaos, and when looking out the front door, they saw a huge fire on the hill. It was the house of the sweet old couple Nick had been watching before. Without thinking or waiting for anyone else, he took off to try and help. The fire had completely consumed the house, and there was no way anyone could survive it. Jeremiah stepped up, stopping his son’s from attempting to put it out, knowing the same thing Nick did. He took a breath, trying to calm his adrenaline as the crowd began to try to head back to their homes, others mourning the loss of a friend. This time, Nick caught Troy’s eye and nodded him off to talk privately. The other nodded, and they lingered off at a far enough distance hopefully no one would notice.

                Once they were away from the group, they turned their attention to one and other. “I still don’t know what to make out of her wanting to go.” Nick muttered, arms crossed as he pulled his sweater closer to him.

                “I don’t either. Usually she wants nothing to do with me, but now she’s agreeing to go on a trip, be around me for a day or two?” Troy agreed, voicing how perplexed they both were.

                “Can’t you like… tell your dad you have enough without her or something? Or say you don’t trust her enough? I don’t know, something so she doesn’t go? “he asked.

                “Not really. We need all hands, and my dad already approved it. We’ll just have to hope things go alright,” Troy shrugged. He looked exhausted and completely drained. Nick found it surprising how much he wanted to comfort him in that moment. “I should head back, try to get a few more hours of shut eye. Don’t wanna be dragging ass tomorrow.”

                Nick gave a short nod. “Yeah, probably a good idea. Guess I’ll probably see you tomorrow before you leave.” They parted ways and went to try to get a few more hours.

                Watching his mom and Troy leave in the morning was weird and awkward. He tried to distract himself further with going to breakfast, again getting some for Luci as well, and brought it up to eat.

                “It’s time for us to go,” Luci commented as they ate.

                While he’d been expecting it, that didn’t mean he liked hearing it. Troy’s words, asking what he wanted rolled around in his head, and he still hadn’t figured it out. “You’re not ready yet,” he told her, getting up. The conversation just started, and it was already making him restless.

                “You know I am. Don’t make me the reason to stay,” she demanded, as fiery as ever, never taking any bullshit. If it was up to her, they would have been gone days ago.

                He sighed, “we can’t just walk to Tijuana without a plan.”

                “I know people closer, in Mexicalli!” she tried to argue, meanwhile he started to go for the bathroom, wanting anything to stop this conversation.

                “You _knew_ people, okay? They’re gonna be long gone by now,” he leaned against the doorframe, feeling a headache coming on.

                “There are tunnels where they would hide. Prohibition tunnels.” She wouldn’t let up, wouldn’t back down from this conversation.

                “Luci—” he tried to get her to stop.

                She interrupted, before he got the chance, “you’re afraid to leave your family.”

                Nick paused. Was that it? Or was it something else? His mind drifted to a place it didn’t belong, to a person he didn’t belong to. “No. That’s not it,” he answered honestly.

                “I just—I can’t live here,” she told him.

                He knew she took what happened to heart, and he didn’t blame her. “I won’t make you.”

                “You promise?” she eyed him, as if she wasn’t sure whether or not to believe him.

                He nodded, “yeah, I promise.”

                But when she asked if he’d come with her, he chose not to answer, pretending not to hear her as he went into the bathroom. Nick took a few minutes to calm himself down, before heading out, telling her he had work to do. He went down to the remains of the house that had the fire. The walls stood, but that was it. Still, he needed something to do, to get his mind of Luciana, off his mom and Troy being out together, off all of it. So, he tried to do what his dad taught him, and began to work on cleaning it up.

                Jeremiah came to join him, telling him different stories. Of the couple that lived there, of his own youth, of Troy and Jake when they were young. Nick softened when he learned that Troy dealt with neglectful, if not outright abusive parents growing up. They hadn’t spoken much about their homelives in the time they knew each other, and it explained a lot. As well as gave them more to relate on. When they saw Luci out wandering around, the older Otto tried to give him some advice, and then asked him the same question his son had asked; what it was _he_ wanted.

 

                Nick still didn’t know the answer, but he tried to buy himself some more time. Maybe if Luci saw how nice the adobe could be with repair, she’d be okay staying, even for a little while longer, so he could figure things out. So, he planned a dinner, and made a romantic scene for them. He told her the story Jeremiah had told him about the two who lived there and made his attempts to get her to see it as something good. They camped out, under the stars. But when morning broke, he woke to an empty sleeping bag, and a note. An apology for not being able to stay. Luciana had left; and it didn’t hurt Nick as much as it should have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Luci is gone, which means Nick can start to explore his feelings. I promise to have a better chapter up soon.


	4. Changes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Troy and Nick need to have a conversation and walls begin to come down.

                Nick needed to blow off some steam, get his mind off of everything, which led to being on the shooting range with Jeremiah. He practiced with the gun they’d recovered from the adobe, and Jeremiah tried to assure him of everything being okay. Yet shortly after, the group came back, no truck, and no shoes, with reports of what happened. Some local Indians had killed their men and threatened the rest on the ranch if they didn’t leave. He could see Troy struggling, and that his mental state wasn’t good, but he couldn’t get to him right away. He had to take care of his mom and then headed toward the pantry. If Troy wasn’t there, he could go under the excuse of getting supplies for the house. In fact, it was the excuse he used anyway. He got a good look close up of how unstable he was, watching him argue with a couple who wanted to leave. Once Troy turned to leave, Nick chose to go after him.

                “Troy!” he called, grabbing his arm when he caught up to him. “Can we… go somewhere? Talk privately?” he asked when the blue eyes turned to him.

                Troy looked as though he was trying to decide what he wanted to do. His shoulders relaxed a little, and he gave a nod, before leading him off, going back behind the barn. He turned to Nick, wordless, letting him start.

                Nick thought about trying to calm him mentally, but he saw something he knew for a fact wasn’t there this morning. A small bruise around Troy’s already injured eye. He reached up, finger gently touching the purpled skin. “What happened? That didn’t happen on the mission.”

                Troy glanced off, “I started to lose my cool when I was talking to my dad, and he wanted me to shut up,” he shrugged, clearly used to this kind of behavior.

                The younger boy frowned. He knew some of the stuff, because of Jeremiah talking to him, but he didn’t think it was still going on. He was familiar with the feeling of parents laying their hands on their child, given the fact his mom had done it to him a few times. He normalized it, believing he deserved it, but even at Troy’s worst moments, Nick didn’t believe he deserved it. “I know what it’s like. And I know how shitty it can make you feel,” he confessed, dropping his hand. “And I don’t just mean physically.”

                Troy’s brow quirked at that. “Really? Your mom seems so overprotective of you. Didn’t think she could ever hurt you unless hugging you too hard counts,” he muttered.

                Nick let out a small, humorless laugh. “You’d be surprised.”

                “Speaking of, she asked me about you while we were out. ‘Said I had an odd fixation on you,” he commented, nearly sounding amused. He at least seemed calmer and more stable than before.

                Nick got his old mind amusement out of that. His mom had no clue about their history, but it seemed there was enough familiarity there to make her protective. “What did you say to that?’

                Troy shook his head. “Didn’t say anything. Changed the subject. Figured it’d be safer,” he shrugged. “How’re you doing, with… you know.” He didn’t need to elaborate on what he was asking, especially since he’d been scolded for bringing up Luciana already today.

                With a shrug of his own, Nick let out a breath. “Okay. I kinda felt like it was coming… I didn’t want to leave, at least not this soon, and she was ready to leave before she even fully got here.” He didn’t bring up the fact he had a hard time not telling her it wasn’t just his mom and Alicia that he would have a hard time leaving. “I was a little more worried about you and my mom this morning anyway.”

                Troy looked surprised by this. “You were worried about me?”

                He gave the older Otto a playful shove. “Don’t try to make it a big, sappy moment. I was just hoping you didn’t get yourself into trouble or say something to make my mom wanna shoot you,” he teased.

                “You were worried about me. Nick Clark was worried about me,” Troy grinned, shifting a bit closer. His grin started to fade after a few moments of just looking down at the boy in front of him. “Thanks, for worrying about me… it’s not something many people do,” he added, earnestly.

                “Now you have another someone to. Guess my choice is made, and I won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.” It was just having less and less to do with his family.

                Troy faltered more, and Nick could almost see physical walls coming down. “This is all I’ve ever had. This ranch, and these people. All tat’s outside those gates is… burned. Chaos. And Mike… he’s been one of my friends since I was a kid. Kept believing in me, even when other people quit on me. Now he and his family want to leave, and he’s giving up on me too.”

                Without even consciously deciding to, Nick reached out to touch his arm gently. “He’s not giving up on you, Troy. But it’s hard to choose who to stay with sometimes. It’s okay to be hurt by it but trying to keep them is only gonna push them further away. Take that from someone who’s run a lot.”

                The ghost of a smile appeared on his lips as he took in the words. “Thanks, Nicky. I’m kinda glad you’re back in my life.” And then, without any sort of warning, Troy leaned forward and kissed him. It was rushed, heated, and full of worry.

                Nick didn’t know how to respond. It definitely wasn’t their first kiss, but it was unexpected. He was torn between giving into it and pulling away, knowing Troy was in a vulnerable state. But he felt like pulling away would be the worse option, and that Troy would take it as a rejection. He gave into it just enough to let Troy know it was okay, without encouraging more.

                It seemed to work, because, after a moment, Troy was the one to pull away. He seemed baffled, even by his own actions. “So- sorry. Wasn’t expecting to do that. I just… I don’t know,” he chewed on his lip, surprised by his own actions.

                “It’s okay. I just don’t want you to do something you wouldn’t usually do because your mood,” Nick assured him, watching him closely, making sure he was doing alright.

                Troy gave a small laugh. “Not exactly the first time we’ve done that,” he pointed out.

                “Yeah, years ago. Doesn’t mean just because we did it before is something you want to do now.” Nick chose not to comment on how he felt about it. He didn’t want to make Troy feel like a rebound, and he needed to sort out his own feelings first anyway. But the fact it hadn’t only started because Luciana left gave him the idea it wasn’t just a rebound.

                Nodding, Troy let out a breath. “Yeah, guess you’re right. We should, uh, go join the others. Should be about time to get food anyway.”

                “Yeah, sure. Let’s go get food.” Nick gave him a reassuring smile, going with him to get food.

They weren’t overly secretive about the fact they were starting to get along better and sat together. It also meant Nick could keep an eye on him as the Trimbols left and keep him from doing something stupid. It was clear Troy still didn’t _like_ it and it was taking a toll on him, but at least he kept it on lockdown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting to see the effects having Nick around can make, for everyone.   
> I did shift a little bit since Jeremiah technically hit Troy when he was trying to fight the Trimbols on leaving, but I wanted to keep that part in since it's important to Troy's character.


End file.
